Jordan queen urges international community to 'do more' for Rohingya Muslims

Published October 23, 2017
Queen Rania of Jordan, speaks to media during her visit to Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh. — AP
Queen Rania of Jordan, speaks to media during her visit to Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh. — AP

Jordan's queen said on Monday that the international community must respond effectively to end the suffering of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have fled to Bangladesh to escape persecution by Myanmar authorities.

Queen Rania, who visited a refugee camp in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district on Monday, spoke of the “shocking escalation of violence” against Rohingya and urged the international community to step in.

Since August 25, more than 600,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh amid a global outcry for an end to the violence. The United Nations (UN) has termed Myanmar's actions a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.

Bangladesh has been hosting hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who have fled Myanmar dating back to 1978. The UN said some 800,000 Rohingya Muslims are now living in temporary settlements there, about 58 per cent of them children up to 17 years old.

The UN says it needs more assistance to handle the crisis.

“One has to ask, why is the plight of this Muslim minority group being ignored?” Rania said in a statement on Monday. “Why has this systematic persecution been allowed to play out for so long?”

The queen said she was shocked by the limitations of basic services to health care and other lifesaving support.

“It is unforgivable that this crisis is unfolding, largely ignored by the international community,” she said. “The world response has been muted. I urge the UN and the international community to do more to ensure we can bring peace to this conflict."

Opinion

Editorial

Defining extremism
Updated 18 Mar, 2024

Defining extremism

Redefining extremism may well be the first step to clamping down on advocacy for Palestine.
Climate in focus
18 Mar, 2024

Climate in focus

IN a welcome order by the Supreme Court, the new government has been tasked with providing a report on actions taken...
Growing rabies concern
18 Mar, 2024

Growing rabies concern

DOG-BITE is an old problem in Pakistan. Amid a surfeit of public health challenges, rabies now seems poised to ...
Provincial share
Updated 17 Mar, 2024

Provincial share

PPP has aptly advised Centre to worry about improving its tax collection rather than eying provinces’ share of tax revenues.
X-communication
17 Mar, 2024

X-communication

IT has now been a month since Pakistani authorities decided that the country must be cut off from one of the...
Stateless humanity
17 Mar, 2024

Stateless humanity

THE endless hostility between India and Pakistan has reduced prisoners to mere statistics. Although the two ...